News

  • Cola Fairness 2

    When my husband and I were planning the timing on our Social Security benefits, our financial advisor suggested that we could maximize our payout if I started with a spousal benefit based on my husband's account, while letting my own retirement benefit grow. I continued to work and started the spousal benefit at age 66, my full retirement age. Now I am 70, but have not received any notice from Social Security about my own retirement benefit. Does this mean I won't get anything higher than I already receive? .Accurate earnings estimates: It's important to accurately estimate your earnings. If you worked for someone else, Social Security will need your gross earnings prior to deductions for taxes. In addition, Social Security counts when the wages are earned, NOT when they are paid. This includes accumulated sick or vacation pay and bonuses. .On Tuesday – three months later – a panel of three judges rejected the Obama administration's request in a 2-1 decision. They ruled that the state of Texas does have the legal standing to challenge President Obama's executive orders since implementing them will be costly to the state. … Continued

  • June 2013 Abc News Center 10

    Low-income seniors and disabled adults who qualify for benefits under both Medicare and Medicaid frequently have multiple chronic health problems, and more than half have cognitive or mental impairments. More than half of dual eligibles also have annual incomes of less than ,000, and are more likely to receive nursing .Some 13% of the people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid are 85 and older. The youngest Notch Babies turn 85 this year, while the oldest turn 9That's approximately 1.17 million. TSCL believes that roughly one quarter of Notch Babies receive Medicaid as well as Medicare. .The Affordable Care Act made changes that slowly close the doughnut hole, but it's a lot like trying to fill a bathtub when the drain is still open. In 2017, those who fall into the coverage gap will have lower coinsurance, paying 40% of brand-name prices and 51% of generic prices. In 2018, those numbers will fall to 35% and 44%, respectively. And in 2020, they will be responsible for the standard 25% of the costs of both brand-name and generic drugs. However, beneficiaries will continue to be saddled with an ever-growing out-of-pocket maximum that must be paid before catastrophic coverage begins. Over the next eight years, that maximum will grow from this year's ,850 to ,300 in 2024. … Continued

The President believes tying drug prices in the U.S. to those in other countries will bring down the prices here. However, the effect of his order won't be seen for some time and will only cover certain prescription drugs. The executive order requires that the secretary of Health and Human Services immediately test a payment model for Medicare to pay "no more than the most-favored-nation price," meaning the lowest price paid in other developed countries, for specific "high-cost" prescription drugs and products. .The new benefit formula under the 1977 law changes used "wage indexing" to calculate the initial retirement benefit. The economic assumptions used by Congress and the Social Security Administration assumed that wages would grow more quickly than price inflation. Generally, this is the way the economy tends to perform under normal circumstances. In reality, however, the reverse happened. .Fifty-one percent said they put off trips to the doctor and other routine medical care, some for months on end. Forty-four percent said they postponed filling prescriptions or were taking less of their medication than prescribed to make it last. .Sources: 0.3% COLA Announced, The Social Security Administration, October 19, 201"Long Term Impact of Low COLA Growth," Mary Johnson, TSCL, August 31, 2016. .For help estimating how much your benefits should be, the Social Security website has an earnings test calculator. For more information about the earnings limits, get "How Work Affects Your Benefits" Social Security Publication No. 05-10069. .For years I've been getting the same unwanted robo call. "Hello seniors!" a voice bellows. "Stand by to learn how you can receive a free back brace covered by Medicare." .The program is not meant to pay for all your energy costs, and in many places only provides assistance for your main heating source. For example, if you heat with oil, your local program may approve delivery of only a specific amount of heating oil and that may only fill a portion of your fuel tank. The amount of help you get depends on where you live, your income, your energy costs and needs, and your family size, in addition to other factors such as your age. In addition, in many areas of the country, the program runs out of funding quickly and operates on a first come, first serve basis. .Voters are worried about the impact that midterm elections could have on Social Security benefits. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimates that recent tax reform will add .8 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. To make matters worse, the Social Security trustees recently reported program financing has eroded, and estimated that the trust funds will run short by 2034, due to lower-than-expected revenue from tax law changes. .TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will successfully repeal and replace the SGR by the end of this year since doing so would bring increased stability to the Medicare program for both doctors and patients. However, we are opposed to offsets that would reduce Medicare benefits or require seniors to pay more for their health care, and we firmly believe that beneficiaries should not be penalized for the poor policy-making decisions that were made by Congress more than a decade ago.